Prison Experiences

 Sometimes we have circumstances or situations in our life that feel like a prison. We feel trapped. Maybe it’s something we can’t get out of or we can’t fix. Like a health problem. Or a disability. Or maybe it’s something that we could get out of, but we know we shouldn’t. Like a ministry or responsibility that God has given us. It could be a pregnancy, motherhood, marriage, or any ministry we do for God that is hard and never ending.

We may not be able to escape our prison. But we have the choice of how we handle our prison. We can be like Paul. We can learn to be content in whatever prison we are in through God’s strength. We can trust God in our prison. We can take our prison to God in prayer and find that God’s grace is sufficient. We can do whatever ministry we can in our prison. For Paul it was writing letters and sharing the gospel to anyone around him.

We can be like Joseph. We can do our best in our prison and live in the presence of God. We can be a blessing to the people that we are around while living in our prison.

And then there’s John Bunyan. God is unlimited. But I do wonder if The Pilgrim’s Progress that has helped so many people would have been written if John Bunyan had never had a prison experience. And when Paul writes about joy and contentment, would it have the same meaning to us if it had come from a palace instead of a prison?

And how many beautiful hymns and books have been written from a prison of pain and trouble? Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, was bedridden for twenty years of her life. From the prison of her bed, she wrote at least 35 books which have blessed and helped a lot of people around the world.

What will you do in your prison? Will you trust God? Will others be blessed because of your prison experience? Will you bring glory to God in your prison?